I believe the great CEOs understand both business success and personal success. My higher purpose is to disseminate CEO wisdom to help elevate business, the economy and society. My platforms are: host of the nationally syndicated Am/Fm radio show The CEO Show with Robert Reiss, and host of the CEO TV Show. We also produce The CEO Forum magazine, which is received exclusively by the top 10,000 CEOs in America. I recently co-authored, “The Transformative CEO” which was published by McGraw-Hill in 2012. One of my passions is sharing insights by giving keynote speeches on the topic, “What we can learn from America’s top CEOs”.

Visionary Healthcare Leader Series, Interview #1 Ken Kaufman

I am concerned with the state of healthcare in America. Statistically, our healthcare costs have ballooned to 17.2% of the GDP. Anecdotally, both CEOs and friends alike tell me healthcare is becoming a disproportionate amount of their budgets. Still the quality of care and outcomes lags behind many countries. In fact, a recent Bloomberg report analyzed the healthcare efficiency globally and the U.S. came in 46th place out of 48 countries.

So I decided to put together a series of interviews where I would have visionary healthcare leaders share insights on 4 fundamental questions about solutions for cost, quality, technology, and how the system might change over the next decade.

In February, I was at a Governance Institute meeting of hospital board members, and in hearing Ken Kaufman, Chair of Kaufman Hall, speak I found the first visionary for this series. Here are his responses:

Robert Reiss: With healthcare at 17.2% of the GDP, significantly higher than any other nation, how can we improve the economics of healthcare in America?

Ken Kaufman: We’ll need a total overhaul of the care system to reduce both the amount of care we consume and the cost of that care. New economic incentives like high-deductible health plans and value-based payment are encouraging consumers not to over-use and providers to be more efficient. But a more radical reworking of the care model is coming, driven by new competitors from Walgreens to GoogleGoogle and innovations from robotic pills for chronic conditions to greater availability of genetic sequencing. Ultimately, we need to transform the system from high-cost, provider-centric, and sickness-focused, to low-cost, consumer-centric, and wellness-focused.

Reiss: How can we enhance quality of care while not adding to costs?

Kaufman: For an example, look no further than Walgreens, which will now be diagnosing and treating heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions that are the big drivers of healthcare costs. Walgreens uses physician extenders and kiosks, so it’s low cost. Ninety percent of Americans live within two miles of a Walgreens, so it’s convenient. This model is designed to get people the right level of care at a lowest cost. And it encourages people to be seen early, before their condition calls for treatment in a more expensive setting. The introduction of a company like Walgreens where doctors and hospitals once held sway is a sign of the upheaval happening in healthcare.

Reiss: In a digital world, how will mobility change healthcare?

Kaufman: A smartphone is even more convenient and less expensive than a Walgreens clinic. You can research competing doctors, even while sitting in your doctor’s waiting room. You can attach a blood pressure cuff or a blood glucose monitor. You can get a mobile video consultation quickly and inexpensively through Google Helpout. Soon you’ll be able to store and share DNA information. Mobile technology is a game-changing tool for moving care into the lowest cost setting and under the consumer’s control.

Reiss: By 2025, how will our healthcare delivery system change?

Ken Kaufman and Robert Reiss discuss healthcare at The Governance Institute

Kaufman: By 2025, patients will have moved to the top of the healthcare system, with greater engagement and choice. Doctors and hospitals likely will be at the bottom, increasingly viewed as a commodity. In between will be a company that acts like your cable TV company. It will own the infrastructure of the system and use it to deliver content. It will either rent or make the content, depending on which provides the highest quality. It will move the content to consumers using multiple settings and platforms, with consumers opting for the most economical and convenient approach. This new company may be a provider organization or an insurer, but my bet is that it’s a company that doesn’t even exist yet.

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